Mated: A Sci-Fi Alien Invasion Romance (Garrison Earth Book 3) Read online

  “Well, for one, it’s nighttime, and then —”

  “I’m tired. I want to go upstairs.”

  “Alright.” I pushed myself up from the chair and offered her my arm in support. “I’ll bring you upstairs, and the care droids can take over from there.”

  Wrinkled hands grabbed for my arm, their strength fading with each visit. At ninety-three, Betsy had survived beyond the average life expectancy for a human female. How much longer would I make this drive to Oak Valley? The thought of losing the female I’d been fated to be with ran cold up my spine, no matter how non-existent that connection we shared.

  The lift brought us to the third floor, where I guided her toward her room with slow steps. Ceiling lights illuminated everything the moment we stepped inside, and her body-conforming bed immediately adjusted its height for easy access.

  As much as I tried to guide her toward it, Betsy drifted left to her nightstand. She grabbed for the framed picture there, colors faded red and cream, showing a young Dan in uniform.

  She swatted me away and sat down on her bed, the wrinkles around her eyes scrunching together. “Isn’t he handsome? He gave me this photograph before he left for Germany. He was only twenty-one back then.”

  “I’m sure he was a fearless male,” I said. “And I’m glad you got to keep those when we came.”

  “I was so smitten with him,” she said, the single tear rolling down her cheek proof that those never ran dry, no matter our age. “He said he’d come back to me, and he did. We had no money back then, so he built our house together with his brother. Every day after work, he laid bricks. Even built me a porch.”

  I lifted her legs onto the bed and slipped the shoes off her feet. “Let me call the care droid for you.”

  Betsy pressed Dan’s picture against her heart, a place so full with another male; there was no room for me. Fifteen years dead. That guy in the image? It should have been me. But I was in no-one’s picture.

  How could she have loved him so much when he’d never been her fate?

  “You’ve been together for a very long time,” I said.

  The moment I leaned over to activate zero gravity on her bed, she took my hand. “What was your name?”

  That twitching in my eye again. “Balgiz.”

  “Balgiz, yes.” Her gaze locked with mine as if something deep within her irises recognized what we could have been… some sixty Earth years ago. “Can you take me home?”

  I stopped counting the many times she’d asked me that. “You are home, Betsy.”

  “Dan and I have our troubles, but we refuse to give up,” she said, everything else already forgotten again. “Young people like you don’t understand that.”

  Oh, I understood.

  I took care of a dying Earth woman who could never give me what the Gaia link had promised. Somehow, she’d found the love of her life in someone other than me, all thanks to that split gene pool.

  Granted, when I’d signed up for Garrison Earth, I hadn’t expected my match to be a ninety-three-year-old elder. Back then, I had all those ridiculously detailed images of what she might look like. Be like.

  Now I just wished she would have more… life?

  Three

  Rosie

  * * *

  “Chug! Chug! Chug!” everyone blasted around me as the shot set my esophagus on fire, dark curls wild around my head.

  I placed the empty glass onto the table with a clink and threw my hands up with a cough. “Gaia link, bitches!”

  “Woohoo!”

  The group of bridesmaids cheered, the way they hammered their shot glasses on the table blasting my eardrums. I sat sprawled out on the white couch at the Toroxian tailor, toasting to men, the Empire, and the crap they’d promised.

  When I thud-thud-thudded the glass against the table, the tailor’s assistant immediately set short Toroxian legs into motion. An increasingly common sight now that the Wardens had partially lifted the interstellar travel ban coming to Earth. A carafe poured more of that blue booze, filling the shot glasses to the brim.

  “¡Ay güey!” my sister Izzy snarled over the shoulder of her magnificent green wedding gown, her hair in an elegant updo. “It’s two p.m. for Christ’s sake. How about you go easy on the alcohol?”

  “Why? It’s not like Endal can’t pay for it.” Slightly uncoordinated feet weaved through outstretched legs, and I tugged on the pearl-embellished bodice of her dress. “My sister got herself a hot Vetusian scholar who’s running around in a green dress all day.”

  She slapped my hand away. “It’s not a dress, it’s a robe. And stop touching before this gets all dirty.”

  “Dress. Robe. Whatever. Fact is, if he can pay for this fancy thing, then he can afford the blue stuff.”

  She let out an annoyed huff, lifted the train of her gown, and spun by a few degrees. “You’re here to help me make this dress perfect. Not to get wasted.”

  I lifted my arms and pointed straight down at myself. “I can do both.”

  Two feet below, the Toroxian tailor gave a bump against my kneecap. “Excuse me. If you would step aside so I could note the changes to be made…”

  I did as asked and gave the little man room to work. The perfect dress sat against my sister without a flaw, matching that impeccable life she lived. Foolproof in all things love, allowing her to skip heartbreak and go straight to Mr. Right.

  Kay got up from the couch and walked over, sidestepping around the pedestal with an assessing stare. “I think we’re getting there.”

  A snort pushed some of that leftover burn from the shot up my brain. “Can’t believe it only took us five alterations.”

  “You only marry once,” Izzy said. “If this was your dress, you’d want it perfect too.”

  My shoulders tensed at that.

  Wasn’t that Gaia link a glorious thing? Until the department knocked on your door, telling you that your fated mate bled to death inside a restaurant during phase one. And who wanted to date a girl they weren’t fated to be with, left alone marry? Nobody.

  Izzy jutted her chin, and I followed behind toward the dressing room, letting the train drag over the floor since she asked me not to smudge it and all. Five years younger and married before me, while I couldn’t even get a fucking date.

  “Help me out of this thing,” she said, turning her back toward me. “You’re lucky mama didn’t make it since she had the appointment with the healer. If she’d seen you drink like that, she’d probably smack you over the head with her purse.”

  I wiped my hands down my jeans, which didn’t make me stand out as an unclaimed female at all. “I have to load up while I still can.”

  She inhaled a breath and sucked in her cheeks, only to release it all in a weighted sigh. “Rosie, I really believe that this breeding contract is a terrible idea. We have a great job at the programming department. What do you need that money for?”

  “Who said I need the money? I never mentioned that I signed it for the credits,” I blurted, unease seeping into my bones. “And what’s so wrong with it? A lot of women are doing it.”

  “I don’t care what other women do. Maybe they have special circumstances, or they can’t get a job, or they always wanted a child —”

  “I always wanted children.” With Alex…

  Another glance over her shoulder, this one accompanied by eyes flicking upward. “You didn’t finish your teaching degree because you said you figured out that you hate kids.”

  “Wait a moment! That’s not what I said.”

  “So, what did you say then?”

  “I said,” — I flung my index finger up, holding it over her shoulder so she’d see it — “I said that I came to the realization that I don’t like other people’s children. That doesn’t mean I don’t want my own children or wouldn’t like them.” I opened the bodice, the pearls heavier in my hands than they should have been, mumbling, “Alex and I talked about having kids.”

  She said nothing to that, and we both knew it was for the
best. Instead, she slipped back into her regular green dress, the neckline beautifully embroidered, giving away her mate’s status.

  “What if the Vetusian they assigned to you is a perv?” she asked.

  “Shit, I hope he is, considering how long it’s —”

  “You’re so fucked up in the head,” she said with something between a grunt and a laugh. “Honestly. What if he’s weird? Or ugly?”

  I draped her wedding gown over the hover bar. “Relax! It’s not like they allow every Vetusian into the program. They pre-screen them and make sure they’re psychologically sound and stuff. He’s some big wig warrior at some special unit. Complete eye candy, by the way.”

  “So, you know what he looks like?”

  I nodded, a mental image popping into my mind. “Uh-huh. They showed me his hologram.”

  She slipped into her shoes, a smile tugging on her lips. “And?”

  “Dark hair, super tall, warrior-built. He’s handsome, sexy, and I think he’s the first Vetusian I’ve seen that has a nice bushy beard. I’d let him fuck me even if he was weird.”

  “You’re awful,” she said, letting me watch her smile diminish back into a look of doubt. “But still… a child is so much responsibility. I mean, is it worth it just for those forty-thousand ICs they give you? You’ll burn through that before that kid joins a stratum.”

  “They give an additional twenty if it’s a girl, and a monthly amount from birth until the kid gets drafted.”

  She swung her hands up in a what-the-fuck motion. “So it is about the credits.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  “Rosita.” She placed the entire weight of my name onto my shoulders right along with her arms. “I’m your sister, and I don’t want you to do something so life-changing for the wrong reasons.”

  Why her words churned my guts like that, I couldn’t say. If anything was about to change my life, then it was me, because I refused to let that damn link ruin everything a second time.

  “I’m almost ovulating,” I said with a shrug. “I’ll meet him for the first time this Thursday, and I won’t back out.”

  Her chin dropped with a huff just as she stepped out of the dressing room. “Why won’t you just wait until you find someone to settle down with? What about that Vetusian you went out with last week?”

  I followed behind her along the brightly lit hallway, photographs of elaborate gowns lining the wall. “Yeah, funny story. When we left the restaurant, he offered me a hundred credits if I’d sleep with him. Said he had a match and didn’t want to disappoint her when they first mated.”

  She gave me a pitiful look. “Things will get better for women…”

  “Who got put on the bench because they don’t have a match?” I finished what she probably didn’t even believe herself. “Let’s face it: I’m the leftover piece of cake nobody wants. You might only marry once, Izzy, but I’ll probably never marry. Or a bunch of times. Unfortunately, I can’t rely on the convenience of fate, so a breeding contract it is.”

  The moment my sister stepped around the corner a voice disabled my legs. “Izzy!”

  I stood there, behind the wall, my breath flat and my limbs frozen numb. Crack after crack, the surface of my heart released a rage that threatened to suffocate my lungs. What the fuck was she doing here?

  “I’m so sorry I’m late.” The voice grated my nerves, so familiar, so fucking false. “We had some troubles at the cargo intake, and they made me stay longer. I’m so excited for your wedding!”

  I flicked a glance over my shoulder.

  No rear exit.

  Panic swelled my chest.

  The voice turned into a whisper. “Is, um, is she here?”

  Oh, please…

  Stupid bitch couldn’t smear more pity on a word that short.

  With no escape, I pushed my tits out, sucked my stomach in, and smoothed my hair down. Then I stepped around the corner.

  Only to deflate like a whoopie cushion.

  Damn that new haircut looked good on her, bringing out all those cold shades of blonde that gave her that Nordic European look.

  She had the guts to smile at me. “Hey, Rosie.”

  “Hey, Ellen.”

  A quake started in my knee, but I told myself I wouldn’t let it buckle. When it did, I shifted my weight onto the other side and stood up straight. I wouldn’t let this get to me. My sister and I shared a friend. Had shared a friend. Not anymore.

  Adrenaline flooded my system. For some, adrenaline helped them sharpen their senses. In my case, I just suddenly had the urge to pee before my bladder burst.

  The air cooled around the tip of my nose, and everyone stared at us.

  As if this was some sort of wild west movie, and everyone waited for us to draw our guns. Except that I’d been shot already, and I could have sworn a glance down my chest would have revealed oozing bullet wounds.

  “I have to get back to work,” I said, forcing confidence into every single step toward the couch.

  I reached for my purse but somehow clasped my fingers around another shot glass instead. The blue liquid seared down my throat, set that rage in my stomach on fire, the combustion making me swing around.

  “Just to be clear,” I grumbled, gaze pinning down Izzy, finger stabbing toward Ellen. “You invite that bitch to your wedding, and you’ll have one sister less attending.”

  Izzy furrowed her brows. “Please don’t make a scene.”

  “Why is she even here? You are my sister, and you invited her to this?” I downed another shot, then grabbed my purse for good. “Next time, at least give me the courtesy of telling me, so I won’t have to take time off work for this bullshit.”

  I elegantly swayed toward the door then stumbled over the threshold. Outside, I turned left and walked back to work, a jeans-wearing woman drowning in an ocean of colorful dresses.

  But not much longer.

  Four

  Rosie

  * * *

  I grabbed the last nacho chip from the basket and dipped it into the bowl of red salsa. After waiting for over half an hour in that blue corner booth, my heart no longer flipped over whenever a warrior walked into the restaurant. Would they charge me for the chips and tap water if I got up and left?

  The sorry smile on the waitress’s face made it clear someone with a functioning uterus who got stood up was a rare sight. “Can I bring you more water?”

  I stared at the lonely ice cubes inside my glass. “I’m good.”

  “How about more nacho chips?”

  “They’re free, right?”

  She raised a brow as if I didn’t have to earn my ICs. “Well, they’re complimentary with your order.”

  Given my situation, I had to cling to every single credit, so I handed her the empty basket with a head shake. “Would you be so good to double-check with the hostess that she remembers my name? Rosie?”

  “She has it written down, ma’am.”

  I forced the embarrassment from my tone. “Would you check again?”

  She nodded and walked off with her blonde ponytail bouncing against her shoulders, leaving me behind with melting ice cubes and crumbs clinging to my wrists.

  Billows of steam followed sizzling frying pans as waiter droids carried them to tables, the onions and green peppers making my stomach roll over. At the very least, I would have liked to get a free meal out of this, but those times were apparently over.

  “My boss said they’re on the house,” the waitress said as she stepped back up again, placing the pity-fuck of nacho chips onto the table. “And I spoke to the hostess. Nobody that came in asked for you.”

  As much as my lips wanted to droop, I pulled them into a quick smile. “He probably got held up at work.”

  “Probably.”

  I threw my head back and stared at the sombrero dangling above the table, my stomach clenching. That guy had stood me up, which meant I had to get the department to assign someone else. How long would that take?

  “Rosie?”

>   My heart pounded so hard against my throat I had to swallow.

  ¡Dios mío!

  If that husky voice didn’t have me ovulate right there in that booth, then the looks of this Vetusian sure would. The sleeves of his black uniform were rolled up as far as his massive underarms allowed. He gave me an observant look, gray eyes slightly narrowed at the corners, that dark brown beard giving him a ruggedness I’d never seen on a Vetusian before.

  I cleared my throat. “Yeah. Are you Balgiz? Did I say that right?”

  He nodded and worked himself onto the bench across, pushing the table toward me to make his chest fit. All the while, my pussy grew a second heartbeat underneath the table as if the guy had struck the most primitive cord woven into my DNA. That baby would be gorgeous!

  And did I love the look on that waitress’ face when she returned with a fresh bowl of salsa? I wasn’t so pitiful anymore now, no matter how temporary this might have been. At that moment, I was a human female with her very own, hot and probably hung —

  “I forgot about you,” he said, his eyes wandering across the restaurant. “Got carried away at work and didn’t realize we were supposed to meet until ten Earth minutes ago.”

  My heart sunk at that, piercing itself on those undigested nacho chips sitting heavy at the bottom of my stomach. Did he just say he forgot that he was going to put a baby in my tummy tonight? Who would forget something like that?

  “Here are the menus,” the waitress said, placing one on the table in front of each of us. “What can I get you to drink, sir?”

  “Do you have Earth beer?”

  “We can synthesize over five-hundred kinds. Any particular one you’d like? I can also filter them by color, brew style, or taste.”

  “Bring me something dark.”

  She nodded and typed it into her holographic panel. “And more water for you, ma’am?”

  Now that I was getting that free meal after all, I ordered myself a Margarita, and the waitress walked off.

  “Very pretty,” Balgiz mumbled.

  My cheeks warmed a bit, all delay and forgetfulness forgiven. “Thanks.”